News

Spain’s women’s national team have parted ways with head coach Montse Tome and named Sonia Bermudez as her replacement.

The Spanish Football Federation said Tome’s contract will not be renewed when it expires on 31 August.

Tome, 43, became Spain’s first female head coach when she was appointed in September 2023, having acted as Jorge Vilda’s assistant until the 44-year-old was sacked amid the Luis Rubiales scandal.

She led the side to victory in the inaugural Women’s Nations League in February 2024, but Spain finished runners-up in the Euros after a penalty shootout defeat by England on 27 July.

The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) thanked Tome for “her work, professionalism and dedication” but said she will leave her role on 31 August when her deal expires.

Bermudez won nine league titles during a playing career that took her to Rayo Vallecano, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Levante.

The 40-year-old played 61 times for Spain and had been head coach of the U23s until her promotion to the senior side.

Tome knew her time in charge was likely to end going into Euro 2025, with her contract due to expire this summer and no apparent desire to offer an extension.

Women’s football director Reyes Bellver joined the RFEF in February and sources in Spain say she made it clear she wanted to make deep and genuine changes to the structure.

After high-profile controversy and incidents involving former federation chief Luis Rubiales and World Cup-winning manager Jorge Vilda, Bellver wanted to create a fresh culture.

However, experts in Spain say the team’s performance at Euro 2025 – reaching the final before losing to England in a penalty shootout – delayed the decision to let Tome go, with some members of the board questioning the sporting justification for change.

A unanimous decision by the board was required but they eventually agreed, with sources close to the Spanish players admitting Tome did not hold total authority in the dressing room.

Journalists and supporters in Spain are widely in favour of the decision to let Tome go, given she was assistant manager to Vilda and part of the previously poor culture.

However, there is frustration over the RFEF’s decision to appoint Sonia Bermudez as Tome’s replacement with some in Spain questioning her lack of experience and the fact she was also part of the structure – albeit in the youth teams – when Vilda and Rubiales were involved.

Bermudez was a key player for Spain in her career and has had success at youth team level as a coach, so that does bring optimism, while her assistant Iraia Iturregi is experienced and has an impressive CV.

London Spirit will retain their current name in future seasons of The Hundred following investment from an American consortium.

The ‘Tech Titans’ are one of the eight new investors into a Hundred franchise and take operational control at the Lord’s-based team in October in partnership with the Marylebone Cricket Club.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has already received applications to change some other team names with some likely to be brought in line with investors’ teams in other franchise leagues.

Spirit chairman Julian Metherell said retaining the name “reflects our belief in the identity that’s been built – one that resonates with the capital, our fans, and our values”.

The MCC and the Tech Titans have been in discussions about the team name and branding since winning the bid to buy 49% of Spirit in January – a deal which valued the franchise at £295m.

A final decision on whether to keep the club’s current blue and black kit will be made prior to the 2026 season. There have been suggestions a change to match the MCC’s famous red and yellow colours could be made.

Spirit have also named former England performance director Mo Bobat as the franchise’s new director of cricket.

Bobat, who will start in his new role from 1 October and continue to work in other T20 leagues, has been director of cricket at Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League since early 2024.

RCB won their first IPL title earlier this year.

Everton have agreed a season-long loan deal for Manchester City winger Jack Grealish.

The 29-year-old has fallen out of favour at City and was left out of their squad for the final Premier League game of last season at Fulham as well as the Club World Cup in the United States.

Sources have told BBC Sport that the clubs have reached an agreement over a deal for Grealish, who reportedly earns £300,000 a week at City, and a medical is imminent.

But he made only seven league starts last season as City ended the season without winning a major trophy.

He was left on the bench by manager Pep Guardiola during the FA Cup final defeat by Crystal Palace, with Argentine teenager Claudio Echeverri being given a debut instead.

In June it was understood Grealish wanted a clean break and a permanent new home, but he now seems poised for a loan move.

He would have preferred to join a team in the Champions League, but no offer has yet been made by the likes of Newcastle United or Tottenham Hotspur.

A move to Everton does not present the opportunity of playing European football but it will give him the chance to rejuvenate his career and take centre stage at their new Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Noel Sliney, BBC Sport:

It has been a chastening two years for Jack Grealish, since he enjoyed the most successful season of his career.

He had played an integral role in Manchester City’s historic Treble in 2022-23, starting the FA Cup final and every one of their seven knockout ties as the club won the Champions League for the first time.

Only six outfield City players spent more time on the pitch than Grealish in the Premier League too.

A hamstring injury halted his momentum early in 2023-24, which the England playmaker ended with more yellow cards (seven) than combined goals and assists (six) across all competitions.

He featured in just 40% of the total minutes played by City despite being in the squad for 82% of them.

His involvement dropped to 30% last term as Grealish’s career plummeted to its nadir. Three of his six starts after Christmas came against lower-league opposition in the FA Cup, while 16 starts in total is his fewest in a campaign since he was 20 years old.

Unsurprisingly, it has also been his least productive season in terms of chances created and dribbling success since returning to the Premier League in 2019.

City’s team structure has seldom afforded Grealish the license to take on and glide past opponents as he did with such insouciance as the talismanic captain at boyhood club Aston Villa.

Grealish has grown more accustomed to sitting on the bench than playing football in recent times so his first task will be to get himself physically and mentally ready to play many more minutes of football than he has for the past two seasons.

Everton were rejuvenated following the appointment of Moyes in January, climbing up the table to finish 13th, but have struggled to build on that momentum with significant recruitment this summer.

Grealish will be a marquee signing as the club count down to their first season at their magnificent new Hill Dickinson Stadium.

England boss Thomas Tuchel has shown with his selections of players such as Marcus Rashford and Kyle Walker that he is not afraid to pick those that are out of favour at their clubs.

That will provide Grealish with hope that the England door has not been fully closed in a World Cup year.

Recapturing his form could well take him across the Atlantic next summer – but if that proves elusive it will likely bring about more disappointment for him when an England tournament squad is announced.

Grealish said it was a “dream come true” when he became Britain’s first £100m player by joining City from Aston Villa in August 2021.

He had been the undoubted star at Villa, coming through the academy to become a free-spirited maverick that helped the team to promotion from the Championship and re-established them in the Premier League.

In his first season at City, Grealish played 26 top-flight games, scoring three goals and providing three assists as they edged out Liverpool by a solitary point to claim the title again.

But the following season is when he really hit his stride, playing an integral role as City finally lifted the holy grail of the Champions League, as well as their third league title on the bounce and the FA Cup.

Grealish played 50 matches in all competitions, netting five times and providing 11 assists – his importance to the side highlighted by the fact he started all seven of their knockout ties in Europe.

“The main thing now is I feel loved,” Grealish said during that season. “I feel the manager really trusts me.”

Grealish knuckled down after he and team-mate Phil Foden were warned about their conduct by Guardiola having been pictured on a night out in December 2021.

He had a hamstring injury in the 2023-24 campaign and made just 10 starts in all, often overlooked for the quicker and more direct Jeremy Doku when he did regain full fitness.

He ended that season with more yellow cards (seven) than combined goals and assists (six) and featured in just 40% of the total minutes played by City.

Grealish has won 39 England caps but was left out of the Three Lions’ squad for the 2024 European Championship, where they were edged out in the final by Spain.

Several people close to the player had told BBC Sport its impact on him should not be underestimated and it had made a “real difference to his confidence”.

That appeared to be the case, because it did not get any better last term.

There was a further warning from Guardiola, who said in January: “Do I want the Jack that won the Treble? Yeah I want it, but I try to be honest with myself for that. They have to fight.”

In fact, his involvement with the side for last season dropped to 30%, while 16 starts in total is his fewest in a campaign since he was 20 years old – and as a result, unsurprisingly it was his least productive season since 2019.

Former England winger Theo Walcott has suggested Grealish’s “incredible talent” had been “coached out of him”, but others close to the player disagreed that the manager had in some way drilled the creativity out of him.

Grealish’s days were clearly numbered when he was excluded from City’s final game of the season at Fulham, despite Guardiola giving an impassioned defence afterwards by saying his large squad means he has to leave out “five or six players” and that it was “nothing personal with Jack”.

But he was also dropped from City’s squad for the Club World Cup in the United States in the summer, instead working individually at the training ground in Manchester.

During an open training session on 5 August, Grealish was fully engaged in the tactical sequences and did not give off any vibes of a player that wanted to leave.